Congress Passes “Lemon Law” to Protect New Car Owners
Soon, car owners can be sure that their brand new cars are safe and free of factory defects; if not, they can get a new one or get a refund!
Last June 10 congress, through a bicameral conference, reconciled the two versions of Senate Bill No. 2211, otherwise known as the “Philippine Lemon Law of 2014”.
Congress Passes “Lemon Law” to Protect New Car Owners
According to a report by Manila Bulletin under this bill, car owners are given a warranty of 12 months or a total of 20,000 kilometers of operation upon delivery to report any defects found in the car.
Manufacturers will have a total of 4 attempts to repair the car. If the defect is found to be real by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), manufacturers are task to either replace the car with a similar or comparable one in terms of specifications or refund the customer with additional fees.
Here’s more good news for soon-to-be car owners: according to the bill “To compensate for the non-usage of the vehicle while under repair and during the period of availment of the Lemon Law rights, the consumer shall be provided a reasonable daily transportation allowance… from his or her residence to his or her regular workplace or destination and vice versa, equivalent to air-conditioned taxi fare supported by official receipt,”
However, the lemon law does not cover any defects caused by the costumer “as a result of non-compliance by the consumer of his obligations under the warranty”, any modifications not authorized by the manufacturer or distributor, customer’s neglect of the vehicle, and damage to the vehicle due to an accident.
According to The Philippine Star, the new version is to be presented in a plenary in both chambers of Congress for ratification, after which the bill will be transmitted to the President for signing.
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